Enough Of Mindless Killings

The frequent widespread attacks on the police and some Federal Government’s establishments, particularly in the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria is, without doubt, a very destructive undercurrent that must be undertaken with all the earnestness required to prevent the nation from encountering cumulative descent into sheer lawlessness.
Both zones in the southern part of the country have witnessed several lethal intrusions from the inception of the year to date. Most of the onslaughts are on the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force and police formations in the affected geopolitical areas by some hooligans usually called unknown gunmen. These attacks mainly occur in states like Imo, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom with Imo witnessing a considerable number of such occurrences.
Recent violent strikes left at least seven police officers dead in Rivers State. Gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint in the state, then drove to two police stations, killing officers and burning patrol cars. Though two of the attackers were reportedly killed by the police, others escaped and are being rummaged. At least five other members of the security forces, including three customs officers, were killed by gunmen near the Rivers/Imo boundary.
After shooting dead two police officers at a checkpoint, the hoodlums murdered two more officers and set fire to a patrol car at Rumuji police station. The remaining gunmen then killed three more officers at the Elimgbu police station. The killings of police officers and soldiers of late in the state have induced a night-time curfew imposed by Governor Nyesom Wike.
Similarly, unidentified gunmen attacked a police station in Odoro Ikpe, Akwa Ibom State, on May 7 and 8. According to reports, the assailants killed at least six police officers. The circumstances of the incident are unclear and there have been no claims of responsibility. Last Wednesday, gunmen again hit two police stations in Iwukem and Etim Ekpo Local Government Areas of the state. Facilities, vehicles and properties were razed while two lives were lost in the offensive.
In Imo State, unknown gunmen have been on rampage, exterminating five police officers during an attack at the Okigwe South Zonal Area Command in the Ehime-Mbano Council Area. The gunmen also abducted one officer during the attack and broke into the police facility, took over the armoury and freed detainees. Earlier, there was an invasion of a correctional centre in Owerri on April 5 where 1,844 inmates escaped. The incident is surmised to be the biggest jail break in Nigerian history. Related incidents have continued unabated.
We strongly think that these raids and many others are carried out to instil momentary panic in the minds of the people and make them voluntarily relinquish faith in the ability of the government to protect them. Even more disconcerting is the fact that the attacks are a product of well collaborative efforts, yet there have been no arrests let alone prosecution of culprits.
The police, being a law enforcement agency, is constitutionally saddled up with the responsibility of strengthening the internal security of the nation. Unfortunately, in this instance, they have apparently failed, unable to secure themselves. So, it is from this viewpoint we contemplate it intensely frightening that they are targets by crooked elements who contrive these vicious attacks.
It is depressing, in our opinion, that the bushwhacks on the police are both symbolic of the unfortunate state of security in the nation as well as an indication of the increasing lethargy and revulsion with which some Nigerians hold the force. It is a further reflection of the distrust and enormously strained relationship between the people and the police force.
Even worse is the fact that these assaults are showing up on the heels of resuscitated calls for secession mostly by some hitherto nondescript elements. First, it was Asari Dokubo who proclaimed what he termed as a new Biafran de facto government. In addition to declaring himself the leader of the government, he announced names of some officials who he claimed would work with him to realise his tale of thwarted ambition.
Shortly after Dokubo’s declaration, one Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, loudly announced Yoruba as an independent nation and requested the secession of South-West states from Nigeria. Igboho also contended that the critical resources of Nigeria were firmly in the hands of Northerners, emphasizing that Yorubas were being slaughtered indiscriminately and their land was taken over. This call for secession, in our estimation, is a wild goose chase.
Soon after Igboho’s call, the Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA) issued Yoruba citizens inhabiting in the North a three-day notice to leave the region. But even before these breakup threats, Nnamdi Kanu, the self-acclaimed leader of the illegal Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), had pronounced openly an independent state of Biafra and endorsed the dissolution of ties with Nigeria.
These are warnings and unmistakable signals that cannot be cold-shouldered as they can haul the nation into a chaos of an incredible proportion. Therefore, we denounce the activities of perpetrators of turmoil and massive destruction of lives and properties in the land. If not halted instantly, their nefarious activities will end up consuming everyone including themselves and their families. However, the Federal Government is widely to blame for failing to act decisively to prevent this predicament from deteriorating.
Viewing these disorderly acts in context, it is reasonable to put up issues regarding the espionage gathering means of the security operatives. How is it that these incursions happen and very little is learned about the arrest of transgressors only for the nation to witness yet another a short while later? This is an obvious public denunciation of the nation’s security architecture which has practically regressed into smugness.
Seen in this way, the police and, indeed, other security agencies must bolster their intelligence collection capacities and utilise the same to apprehend those behind the systematic attacks on police formations and many other installations. Until that transpires, public confidence in the police force to defend the citizens will continually diminish.